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Happy Chinese New Year and Gung Hay Fat Choy!!
Let’s welcome the new year with…

Banh hoi!

Basically, we have some rice vermicelli woven into a sort of rice patty and they come stacked plain from the store. At home, we top each one with roasted peanuts and green onions sauteed in oil. And then we restack them on a plate like you see above.

Roast pork and roast duck (pictured left and right, respectively). Both were hanging in the window of the Sam Woo Restaurant in San Gabriel not too long ago. Yumm… tasty murder!!

Lastly, my favorite thing of all… Vietnamese fermented pork AKA “nem chua”
My mother used to make it when we were growing up but she bought it from the store this year. It was good but it wasn’t as spicy as my mother’s! I would like to make it one day, maybe following this recipe.

In case you were wondering… HOW TO EAT BANH HOI:

1. Pick up one of the banh hoi (make sure you grab both sides so you don’t spill the toppings)
2. Add your meat of choice (roast duck or roast pork)
3. Add assorted herbs and vegetables (cucumbers, basil, mint)
4. Roll the everything together with a piece of lettuce.
5. Dip the roll into the ngoc mam (mixed fish sauce) and take a big bite!
6. I usually eat the nem chua as a side because it gets lost under all the meat, banh hoi and herbs.